Looking at it as a logic problem, you have several demands that must be addressed
- each item must be uniquely identified (bar code, RF identification, frequency etc)
- every possible location must be uniquely identified ( ditto)
- when an item enters a location, the location must be capable of identifying it's stock update
- if any new (extra) items enter a location a stock update must be identified
- if any items are removed from locations a stock update must take place
Hence every item is identified as being in particular locations and hence any item can be immediately located by reading from the item/location set
I bel;ieve Amazon use such a system for stock location as no items have dedicated locations, they are simply placed on "random" shelves but each and every time items are placed, their location is "logged" so that they can be readily recovered. I suppose you could call it "fuzzy filing"
All of the above requires communication, be it written, wired or wireless - none of which comes cheap - apart from a paper system Technnoligy ain't all it's cracked up to be !!!